Joe Begos (Christmas Bloody Christmas, Jimmy and Stiggs) will write and direct They Call Him Zorro, a violent twist on the legendary masked vigilante, Deadline reports.
The film will draw on the original writings of Johnston McCulley, who first introduced Zorro in his 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano, but through a horror lens.
In the film, when Diego Vega is framed by a group of dirty city officials for a crime he didn’t commit, he escapes from prison and starts a relentless no-holds barred vengeance on corruption and crime in present day Los Angeles.
The media quickly finds a name for the masked vigilante riding a black El Camino armed with chains, machetes, electric saws, and a sawed-off shotgun: Zorro.
Production and sales outfit WTFilms is producing alongside Begos’ Channel 83.
“All of my favorite action movies, from T2 to Heat, were shot on location in Los Angeles, and it’s always been a dream of mine to inhabit the same cultural playground to stage some of the most high octane and explosive set pieces imaginable,” said Begos. “This project is the perfect opportunity to showcase the beauty of the city, the beauty of its culture, and pull off some old school practical action filmmaking bathed in the crisp golden hour glow of Hollywood”
Begos, who shot his previous movies on 16mm, plans to shoot They Call him Zorro on 35mm film. “We want to bring back the feel and visual texture of action references such as To Live and Die in L.A., RoboCop, or Hard Boiled,” he noted.
“This is not your parents’ Zorro. In our iteration, the masked folk hero has more to do with dark and violent characters such as The Punisher or The Crow,” added WTFilms co-head Gregory Chambet. “What if instead of being a coward by day, sword-yielding funny scoundrel by night, Diego Vega came back for vengeance in the form of a scary, brutal vigilante.”
WTFilms is in the process of financing, with casting underway. “There is a lack of roles for talented Hispanic actors. Zorro is a Mexican character and we want to create a badass icon that makes the Latino community excited and proud,” Chambet said. “We will have done our job right if people start dressing up as this new version of Zorro for Halloween.”
